Mortar and Pestle.net - Formulations

Rose Clay and Coso Green Clay Soap
Finally! I have had the opportunity to make large batches of soap and take pictures of the process again.

On about.com, a soapmaker shows us how to make clay soap without being worried about measuring the temperature of the oils and the temperature of the lye mixture. He also said that you could blend the clay right into your melted oils and then, blend the oils and lye together as always.

The pictures below map the process of making two batches of soap, one with Rose Clay and one with Coso Green Clay. I scented the Green Clay soap with Litsea and Lemon Balm (Melissa) essential oils. The scent is still strong after two weeks and the soap still smells great. I scented the other batch with Eucalyptus and Organic Orange Essential Oils, but the scent did not stick as well.

Supplies...Materials
I have one bucket of Palm Oil and one bucket of Coconut Oil. The two buckets combined with one large can of Virgin Olive Oil, can produce approximately 200 bars of soap.

I purchase the Olive Oil from the grocery store, but I have to order the other two oils from a company in Oregon. Frankly, it costs more to ship the oils to Alaska than the oils cost themselves. I order most essential oils from Mountain Rose Herbs and have always been pleased with the quality.

You can visit my links page for suppliers in your area. Most are listed with their location in the hopes that you can save on shipping charges.
 
I use a stainless steel bowl to weigh the oils, melt the oils, and mix the lye/oil together.
I use a digital scale to weigh the oils, water, and lye.
I have two tempered glass measuring cups, one large and one small to weigh out the lye and to mix the lye with the water.
I generally have two hard plastic spoons on hand to stir everything with. 
I did not use a thermometer while making the two clay soaps. 

The pictures below map the process of making two batches of soap using Rose Clay and Coso Green Clay. Not only do the clays add color, but the bars seem to last longer.

I scented the Green Clay soap with Litsea and Lemon Balm (Melissa) essential oils. The scent stayed and the soap smells great. I scented the Rose Clay batch with Eucalyptus and Organic Orange Essential Oils, but the scent did not stick as well.

Here is a picture of the bucket of Palm Oil. I always place the stainless steel bowl on the digital scale to weigh out the oils and I zero it out with each new oil I add. I write the figures down so that I can enter them into the lye calculator at http://www.cranberrylane.com.







The next step is to place the bowl on low heat until they have melted completely. Meanwhile, I have entered the oils into the lye calculator on Cranberry Lane and with the lye/water calculated weights in hand, I weigh the amount of lye that I need using the small tempered glass measuring cup. I weigh the amount of water that I need into the larger tempered glass measuring cup, then I slowly mix them together, pouring in a little lye at a time. Remember, you must never pour the water into the lye.

 

 
This picture shows all three oils weighed into the bowl. Note that this time, I did not place a candy thermometer into the bowl. If I were to have any doubts, I would know from past experience that the temperature of the oils will be between 130 and 150F by the time they are ready to cool.

Here are the melted oils. I have just added the Coso Green Clay, mixing it into the oils thoroughly. Don't worry if some of the clay settles to the bottom before you have a chance to blend the lye in.






 

This is the color of the oils with the Coso Green Clay mixed in.







 

Here I am pouring the lye/water mixture into the oils. It was not the easiest thing to take a picture and pour at the same time, but anything is possible.






 

Now comes the stick blender, which every cold process soapmaker loves. It is at this time that I add the Litsea Cubeba (May Chang) with a few drops of Lemon Balm (Mellissa) to the mix. 

The wooden loaf mold was pre-lined with Freezer Paper. Freezer paper is still my liner of choice. It is strong, wax lined, and I use it as a cutting surface when the loaf is ready to cut. 

The batch has reached the gel stage. It starts to heat up in the middle and eventually, it reaches the sides. I generally cover the mold with a sheet of folded freezer paper and at this stage, I remove it so that the loaf can start to cool. 

I've just mixed the lye and water and set it aside to cool. 








 

This is the bowl of oils for the Rose Clay batch. A little clay goes  a long way. Rose Clay on its own can temporarily stain skin and surfaces, but not in finished soap. 






 

It is time to mix the lye/water into the oils. I can't say enough about the stick blenders and their effectiveness. 

Trace has been reached and it is time to add the essential oils. Eucalyptus and Orange essential oils create a lovely scent, but the scent was not strong at the end of the process. 

This batch went into one of my larger wooden molds and four pounds of oils and a pound and a half of water and lye filled the mold completely. 

I have just cut the Rose Clay bars and was able to cut each bar in half to make two. They were huge and again, I filled the mold completely, so this batch actually yielded 22 good sized bars. 

Here are the finished bars. No thermometers. I mixed the clay with the oils after I melted them. When I was finished, I blended the lye/water into the oils until it reached trace. I added the Essential Oils, mixed them in well and poured the batch into the mold.